How the Bowen Country Club Came To Be

Hull House, founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr on September 18_^th, 1889, was located on the west side of Chicago; the settlement was on Halsted Street not far from Taylor Street in a predominantly Irish, Greek and Italian neighborhood.

In a crowded, poverty-stricken area, Hull House became a center of social reform and cultural activity for the women and children who went there for classes in sewing, music, drama, weaving and more. By 1911, Hull House had grown into a 13-building complex which included a dining room (where children could get a hot meal) and a gymnasium (where children participated in organized athletics). Jane Addams wanted still more for these mothers and children -- a place in the country where they could go in the summer and on winter weekends.

Louise de Koven Bowen, treasurer of Hull House and a close friend of Miss Addams, wanted to do something in memory of her late husband, philanthropist Joseph Tilton Bowen; Mrs. Bowen volunteered to endow a camp in his memory.

Together the women looked at over 150 sites for a camp. On a cold November day in 1911 they took a train to Waukegan and met with Mayor Fred Buck. He took them to a site three miles from town which he had hoped to turn into a park (the city fathers voted down his proposal arguing that the site was too far from town). As they stood at the edge of the ravine looking over the 72 acres of tree-lined land they knew they found the right place. The purchase price was $29,000.00.This was the start of the Bowen Country Club. Mrs. Bowen wanted to maintain the family atmosphere found at Hull House, and so she called the camp "Country Club." She thought this would encourage the children to feel it belonged to them and to feel responsibile for taking care of it.